FLINT TOWN UNITED boss Niall McGuinness has urged his side to reignite the Cymru Alliance title race by beating leaders Airbus..

Currently third in the table and 15 points behind the unbeaten Wingmakers, the Silkmen are out to halt their Flintshire rivals’ 14-game winning streak and prevent an unopposed march towards the league title.

Despite a 3-0 defeat to Bala in the Welsh Cup in midweek, McGuinness was pleased with his side’s performance and has labelled Saturday’s derby a ‘must win’.

He said: “The most important thing for us is that our mentality is right.

“This is a massive game and we have to be mentally prepared for it and show the same intensity as we did at times in the Bala game.

“If we can reach those levels then Airbus are in for a shock.

“Obviously their form has been outstanding this season. I’ve watched them a few times already and and they haven’t won all of those games by luck.

“We’ll have a game-plan and a strategy to cope with their threats, but we’re confident we can do that

“We have faith in the quality of the players here and we’re determined to be the first team to beat them this season.

“It’s a must win game for us and if we can do that it might prove to be a turning point this season, because at the moment they’re running away

with the league.”

Airbus assistant boss Andy Thomas insists all the pressure is on the hosts, but expects a stern test from their county rivals.

He said: “It’s a game they can’t afford to lose, so we have to go there expecting a big performance from them.

“But we’re getting used to that this season. Every team wants to stop the run of form we’re on.

“The pitch will probably be cutting up a bit after a midweek game so we’ll need to adapt to those conditions and change our style if necessary.

“We have the ability to do that with the options in the squad, so we’ll be ready.”

Airbus defender Danny Taylor is in contention to start after his return from injury.

Flint will be without skipper Richie Foulkes as he serves the first of a three-game suspension, with defender Andy Brown facing a lengthy injury lay-off after sustaining a broken ankle against Bala.

Denbigh Town are in action on Friday at home to Rhyl, while second-placed Porthmadog will head to Llanrhaeadr on Saturday

Ruthin Town visit basement side Holyhead Hotspur, while fellow strugglers Prestatyn entertain Guilsfield.